NASA’s Asteroid Watch dashboard has identified five asteroids that are expected to pass by Earth starting on Wednesday. These asteroids range in size from as small as a house to as large as planes and buses, but fortunately, they do not pose a threat to our planet.
The first asteroid, named JA5, will pass by Earth on September 6 and will come within a distance of 3.17 million miles. This asteroid is relatively small, measuring 59 feet in size. Two days later, on September 8, two more asteroids, QC5 (measuring 79 feet) and GE (measuring 26 feet), will skim past our planet.
On September 10, a slightly larger asteroid, QF6, will come the closest to Earth, at a distance of approximately 1.65 million miles away. QF6 measures about 68 feet in size. Finally, on September 12, the fifth asteroid, which is also the size of a bus, will pass by Earth at a distance of about 2,620,000 miles.
NASA’s Asteroid Watch dashboard is responsible for tracking asteroids and comets that come close to Earth. It provides relevant information about each encounter, allowing scientists and researchers to monitor their trajectories and ensure they do not pose any harm to our planet.
Although there are approximately 30,000 cataloged asteroids near Earth, scientists have confirmed that none of them pose a threat to our planet for at least the next 100 years. These asteroids are remnants from the formation of the solar system, which started approximately 4.6 billion years ago.
The solar system formed through the collapse of a gas and dust cloud, with some materials forming the sun and others condensing into planets. Asteroids are an important part of this formation process and studying them helps scientists better understand the origins of our solar system.
As these five asteroids pass by Earth, NASA’s continuous monitoring ensures that we can enjoy the beauty of these cosmic visitors without any concern for our safety.
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